"This is the baseball."

Let's hope that the roof stays on

I threw in the new Bob Dylan album, “Together Through Life,” on the drive up to Detroit today and had planned on writing up a three-word review. (I’ll go with, “Accordion-aided excellence.”)

Then I got to thinking about Dylan’s prolific career. “Together Through Life” is his 33rd studio album. According to his official Web site, he has written 456 songs — and those are just the ones that have been released. “Brownsville Girl” alone contains 1,112 words, seven of which are referenced in the headline above.

(NOTE: I have no way of knowing if “Brownsville Girl” is the wordiest Dylan song. It’s merely my first guess, seeing as how it’s about 11 minutes long.)

I guess when it comes to words written per calendar year, Dylan is rivaled only by, well, baseball beat writers. And with that notion in mind, here are a few words about the Indians.

EXCRUCIATING MINUTIA OF THE DAY…

One month into the season, Baseball Prospectus’ playoff odds report gives the Indians a 16.7 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, an 11.3 percent chance of winning the AL Central and a 5.4 percent chance of winning the Wild Card.

Jamey Carroll is on the trip again. He’s taking groundballs, swinging off a tee and running the bases. He could be ready for a rehab assignment sometime next week.

Some early splits that strike me as interesting: Obviously, Victor Martinez is having a strong season. He’s second in the league in batting average (.386), tied for second in multi-hit games (10), fourth in total bases (56), sixth in on-base percentage (.446) and seventh in slugging percentage (.636). But his numbers with runners in scoring position are less-inspiring — .190 (4-for-21) with no homers and three RBIs.

Grady Sizemore has been much less productive at home (9-for-49 with two homers and eight RBIs) than he has on the road (13-for-43, four homers, 10 RBIs. He’s 6-for-21 (.286) against lefties and 16-for-71 (.225) against right-handers.

Kelly Shoppach has been victimized by right-handed pitching — .6-for-31 (.194) with a homer and two RBIs.

Believe it or not, the Indians are tied for fourth in the AL in stolen bases with 17 in 22 games. Last year, they didn’t notch their 17th stolen base until the 30th game of the season.

Entering tonight’s game, the Indians have won seven straight against the Tigers, dating back to last July 31.

Some guy named Adam Miller — not the guy with the finger issue but an Indians fan, nonetheless — is getting married in Cleveland this weekend. Here’s wishing him and his bride-to-be well.

~AC

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11 Comments

I have to say this now because it may not make sense for the rest of the season, but after watching Delucci and Francisco both go through 3 at-bats, I’d rather see Delucci out there than Francisco…tonight.

Are we sure that it would be Valbuena for Graffanino? Maybe they keep Valbuena on the old “We would rather they play consistently at AAA than sparingly in the bigs” plan. Whereas, I think at this point they have given up on Barfield being anything more than a utility guy. I’m not doubting you Anthony, but I would not be surprised to see Barfield get the call.

I think most people would rather see someone else step into Francisco’s place if it means regular ABs. I would guess the name LaPorta is going to come up a lot until Francisco gets some kind of groove going.

With the DH open, I wouldn’t want to stick Dellucci in the outfield when we have guys who can cover some serious ground out there sitting on the bench.

I would also guess that AC’s guess suggest that Valbuena has performed well at 3rd, on top of short and 2nd, and would be able to step in as a utility guy better than Barfield. But that’s a lot of speculation on speculation on my part!

LACF, despite the moves made for the bullpen (Joe Smith) I would think that giving up 6 HRs in under 13 IP is a major problem seeing as he only gave up 8 all of last year in 66 IP no less. Personally, I would have sent down Perez AND Lewis for Rundles (to stay here) and John Meloan. While I might have rather seen Randy Newsom since he is pitching better, one has to take into account the 40 man roster situation.

And why is it that Wedge seems to not want to send down Perez or Lewis, even for a short term replacement? If I remember correctly, Rafael Perez was supposed to be a short term replacement in 2007 until he pitched himself into the lefty setup role. While the regulars are struggling, give others a chance to prove themselves. And while I said it yesterday it bears repeating, Vinne Chulk saved himself his release with his 2 1/3 IP against Boston.

f I remember correctly, Rafael Perez was supposed to be a short term replacement in 2007 until he pitched himself into the lefty setup role. While the regulars are struggling, give others a chance to prove themselves.

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